COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — The house was small, not much larger than a storage shelter some Americans might have in their backyard.

To the family for whom it was just built, it was like a mansion.

"I'll never forget the look of appreciation. It just blew me away," said Brookstone baseball coach Vince Massey.

The family had been living on the street.

Massey said a greater appreciation for what one has was gained by 46 members of the Brookstone School family on a recent mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

"To see so many living below the poverty level made us think," he said. "We as Americans have a lot of stuff we don't need."

Seventeen baseball players from the Columbus private school were among those making the trip.

"Despite the poverty, people approach life like someone who has everything," Massey said. "I told the players to think about those people every time they begin to let something that didn't go the way they wished ruin their day."

Besides Massey and baseball players, there were 10 students and 18 family members.

Mission members brought food, toiletries and baseball equipment to the Dominican Republic.

The group left Columbus on March 30 and returned April 6.

After arrival in Santo Domingo, there was a 20-minute bus ride to the city of Boca Chica.

Along the way, mission members saw a procession of about 200 people marching down the street.

"It was the day after Good Friday," freshman Drew Webb said. "I thought it was some kind of Easter celebration."

He asked the driver and discovered, to his dismay, it was a gathering of Satan worshippers.

"They were celebrating the death of Christ," Drew said. "It was strange."

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